About

Mission Statement

To provide a resource drawing on the visual, literary and listening arts to observe, understand and empathize with the experience of illness.

Vision Statement

To foster a community of artists, physicians, students and patients committed to healing through the intersection of art and medicine.

About this site

A cadre of physicians and other health practitioners, mostly
educators in medical schools, believe in the healing power of the arts. Many of
these clinicians find ways of incorporating the arts into their practice.
Although hard evidence is lacking, the arts can be used to improve clinical
observation, deepen the doctor-patient relationship and prevent physician
burnout. Playing music for and with patients, listening to and re-telling
stories, and spending time looking at art all have a role in teaching medical
trainees and caring for patients.

Over the years, I have gathered a rich web-based repertoire
of primary arts materials from which physicians and students can draw. This
repository of visual, auditory and narrative art covers many relevant
topics—from learning anatomy to patients’ experience of illness to challenges faced
at the end of life.

Many of the works included in the site are the result of
personal relationships I’ve cultivated with artists around a mutual interest in
medicine. I have connected with musicians, photographers, poets and
storytellers, all of whom have generously allowed me to share their work on
this site.

Many of the features on the website address common clinical
scenarios. So, for example, I’ve included in my website my colleague Heike
Bailin’s humorous ruminations on caring for challenging patients. Just as
often, or more often, I offer to users of this site the patient perspective

While most medical journals provide a space for reflective
writing, and some feature visual art, the pieces they publish must conform to
each journal’s didactic agenda. The “Interacting with the arts in medicine”
website celebrates a more open-ended approach to the arts and their
application. Most features begin with a series of questions I have asked to
challenge the user. Each visitor must decide how he or she wishes to engage
with the site’s resources: for entertainment, to share with a patient, to pass
on to a student, or to help mend a personal wound.

Some sections of the site are still being built. The visitor
is invited to offer feedback, connections and additional materials or ideas. I
hope you will enjoy browsing the site and finding stories, poems or images that
resonate with you.